This update will answer some of the questions in Polo’s post. And, thank you Emily & Debra and Trouble & Shannon for the warm welcomes. Trouble—I have a soft spot for Staffordshire Terriers aka Pitbulls. I had a sweet little girl in my past life (previous marriage). Staffies are one the most miss-understood breeds. Emily—we have what we’re pretty sure is a Shepherd/Rotty mix (Polo’s little brother). Sometimes he looks like a Doberman though. He’s a goofball and a handful—we love him a lot, Polo is his idol.

Treatment thus far: Surgery was 29 Sep. Today is 3rd day post-op and the Doc wanted to see him before the weekend (it’s Friday). I was concerned about redness around his incision area (mostly underneath). I reckon some redness and swelling is expected; although, we see no or minimal swelling. Everything looks normal to the Doc. Other than that—no worries, Polo is in great spirits today. Unless we hit a bump he goes back in two weeks to remove stitches.

Treatment Plan: If Polo continues to do well (keep the positive energy going), he’ll start chemo when the stitches come out. We saw chest xrays two weeks ago, not conclusive. The Doc wants to see xrays again when the stitches come out. If all goes well, the plan is to start him on Melphalan (brand name Alkeran). The Doc has used this drug with success—it’s a pill we can give at home and the side effects are minimal if any (I reckon). With regard to mets, he explained that treatment will not change unless he discovers issues he must treat otherwise.

Tazzie, you asked about our doc--he's a GP. We've been with him and most his staff almost 10-years and we wouldn’t trust anyone else with our boys (6 total--counting the three cat people). We know some of the other doc’s in our area he’s the best (according to us)—I don’t know of any oncologists. I’m not sure what the benefit is to find an oncologist or how to negotiate that relationship??? I know our Doc has treated several bone cancers. Our Doc possesses everything we expect. I'm focusing my research on nutrition, supplements and Polo's mental health--he has no hang-ups at all. Like I've said, we have to hold him back.

BTW: I did some research on limb saving surgery. I found some cases that worked well and some that did not. Either way, it seems most experienced the same ultimate result (from what I read). I received an offer to evaluate Polo’s case for limb saving treatment at the U of Texas; however, the treatment is experimental and doesn’t treat other organs. The offer was phenomenal, but we decided to stay on our course.

Polo, Mike and Jenny

Captain Jack - I read about some cases that ended up amputating after limb saving surgery and some more extreme bio material processes that are just not practical (for us). I discussed with my vet and ultimately, my decision was based on the fact it didn't address other areas and more than that, I read about how well Tripawds do.